Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and I acknowledge his real engagement on this matter. Given the shortness of the available time I will quote Commandant Quinlan, who ruefully stated that if one had men killed, it may be seen as victory, but if one saves those men in a good defence, it is a defeat. There is context in that interpretation. I welcome that the commission has been set up and I hope it reports quickly. I also hope it looks into the historical context, the culture of the time and the direction the men were sent, including whether they should have been sent to Jadotville in the first place. It is a questionable proposition. Therein may lie the fault and a kind of historical cover-up. They should not have been directed there.

I welcome the commission and we should be very proud of our Defence Forces. We should be retrospectively proud of these men and the survivors, and they deserve recognition. I am impressed by the real engagement with it now and if a proper historical analysis is taken, the case would stand for recognition of these men.